Evolving Thoughts: Russell's teapot

Search this blog

Profile

John Wilkins is an aged, eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and a position as a ~~Postdoctoral Fellow~~ Sessional Lecturer at the University of Queensland, in Australia. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books. Species Definitions: A Sourcebook (Peter Lang) will come out in 2008; Species: A History of an Idea (University of California Press) will appear, it is hoped, in early 2009. He is also interested in cultural evolution, philosophy of religion, Macintosh computers and his kids.

If anyone knows of a tenurable, or even medium term, job in philosophy of biology, let me know. Have library, will travel. The contract ran out ...

This blog is designed to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...

Books I'm reading

Monkey Trials and Gorilla Sermons: Evolution and Christianity from Darwin to Intelligent Design (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine)

Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography

Re-Engineering Philosophy for Limited Beings: Piecewise Approximations to Reality

Adaptive Thinking: Rationality in the Real World (Evolution and Cognition Series)

Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology, 3rd Edition (Bradford Books)

Search old and new blogs

Other Information

My personal page is here:

John Wilkins' personal page

The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.

« Pastorale | Main | Neil Young gets his own web presence »

Russell's teapot

Category: Design • Humor
Posted on: May 13, 2008 2:12 AM, by John S. Wilkins

Some things, I really should have thought of myself. Like this:

Hubbletelescopeteapot

StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Comments

Now that Russell's teapot has been found, I guess that closes up yet one more gap where we can no longer say "philosophersdidit". :-)

Posted by: Cory Albrecht | May 13, 2008 3:09 AM

Genius.
Has anybody used the Russell's teapot gambit on a believer who tries the "you can't prove God doesn't exist" ploy? I have, they seem to assume that because of tradition and popularity that God is more justified than something made up. Just because Russell made up the teapot doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Prove me wrong. ;)

Posted by: Brian English | May 13, 2008 4:08 AM

I should've said: something obviously made up (the Teapot, not God). Oh bugger it, God is obviously made up too....

Posted by: Brian English | May 13, 2008 4:10 AM

That image is obviously a fake. The teapot wasn't found with Hubble. NASA used Chandra. More in the news tomorrow.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/may/HQ_M08089_Chandra_Advisory.html

Posted by: Lassi Hippeläinen | May 13, 2008 5:15 AM

That image is obviously a fake. The teapot wasn't found with Hubble. NASA used Chandra.

Lassi, Lassi! And I thought you were scientifically literate! Russell's teapot is of finest bone china and as such is not detectable with a X-ray telescope like Chandra ;)

Posted by: Thony C. | May 13, 2008 11:27 AM

It hasn't happened yet, but it's under way. Take a look at:
http://sneerreview.blogspot.com/2008/05/wegwood-document.html

Posted by: Omer Moussaffi | May 13, 2008 11:41 AM

Russell at least had the decency to give a general location for his teapot, narrowing the search.

Posted by: Catman | May 13, 2008 10:56 PM

Thanks for that link, Omer. Interesting to find out that Russell was a friend of Yen Ruen Chao, who wrote one of my favourite linguistics textbooks (the name of which I've forgotten).

Posted by: Jason | May 13, 2008 11:42 PM